When we first laid eyes on the scary trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince last summer (back when we thought it would be out on Thanksgiving), we applauded Warner Bros.' continued efforts to pull the franchise out of Chris Columbus territory, gradually allowing the films to get closer to the creepiness of the books. Now, Rope of Silicon reports that Half-Blood Prince has been slapped with a PG rating from the MPAA, which seems to imply that it's not as dark as either of the two previous Potter movies, both of which were rated PG-13. Producer David Heyman has already confirmed that the Battle of Hogwarts, along with a certain funeral, have been cut from the movie's ending (to "[avoid] repetition" with the upcoming Deathly Hallows movie), but does this mean other things have been toned down or cut? Or, post–Dark Knight, is society just so coarse and accustomed to violent, terrifying imagery that the MPAA no longer gives a crap? We certainly hope it's the latter!

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince [Rope of Silicon via Movies Blog/MTV]

Earlier: ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ Trailer: The Sorrows of Young Voldemort
Eat Slugs, Warner Bros.: ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ Moved to July 2009